Category: Case Interviews

What is a Case? Cases are a tool used by interviewers based on a business scenario; they go beyond behavioural and background questions to assess the actual abilities of a candidate by replicating the steps of a consulting project. They are a means of evaluating potential candidates when facing a real-life business challenge to determine whether you …

Interviews were fast approaching and I knew I wasn’t on track. Nothing was working until I finally had three key insights. These insights led to a 100% hit rate at my consulting and tech interviews, which included BCG, Strategy&, AT Kearney, Amazon, Cognizant, and several boutique consultancies. What I discovered is that the interview outcome, …

(Source: Flickr) In this post we outline some mathematical concepts that may prove useful for solving consulting case questions. 1. Break Even Analysis: Relevant when trying to decide whether to launch a new product or invest in a project with high fixed costs. 2. Customer Lifetime Value: Customer lifetime value is a prediction of the entire future …

(Source: Flickr) Below we provide a selection of sample consulting case questions. The questions are broken down into seven (7) question types to make them easier to digest. 1. Declining Profitability Our client is eBay. Its share price fell from $310 to $200 per share on reports of declining profits. What’s going on and how …

(Source: Flickr) Brainteasers are another kind of question that you might confront in consulting interviews. They are likely to be tricky and to require “out of the box” thinking. Why do interviewers ask brainteasers? Well, since clients can sometimes ask questions which have no immediate or obvious answer, the goal of the brainteaser is to assess …

ARE you an aspiring management consultant? If so, then you’re in luck. Over the coming months we will be posting about the consulting interview. In this post we look at the purpose of the consulting interview. The purpose of the consulting interview is twofold. Firstly, it is a test of client readiness. Management consultants are hired by senior executives …

When the business landscape changes, how can you turnaround a failing company? (Source: Flickr) RADIOSHACK, an American consumer electronics giant of yesteryear, faced chaotic trading on Wednesday as analysts predicted the company would report it’s 10th straight quarter of losses. RadioShack has hired a law firm to provide restructuring advice in an attempt to avert bankruptcy. Assuming …

Growth strategy begins with identifying the source of the problem – you will want to look at customers, products, the company and its competitors (Source: Culturamix) THE frequently used term business growth simply describes the process of improving some measure of an enterprise’s success, ranging from promotion, product development, new market entry or improving employee productivity. How can we more closely …

“Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” ~ Warren Buffett LAST post, I highlighted the importance of strategy when considering the viability of a potential acquisition; however, before a final decision can be made, a consultant needs to estimate the value of the target company. Building on information provided in Management Consulting: …

MERGERS have had a ubiquitous presence in the news recently as leaders in the airline, publishing, and telecommunications industries have taken steps to consolidate. Just this week, two of the largest advertising entities, Omnicom and Publicis, announced a $35.1 billion merger. In recent months, tech giants Google and Yahoo have acquired dozens of companies, most …

CanadaCo, the largest discount retailer in Canada, currently holds the dominant market share in the industry. USCo, the largest discount retailer in the United States, has decided to expand into Canada by purchasing CanadaCo’s competition. How should the CEO of CanadaCo respond? WHEN considering a case that requires a competitive response, first take a look …

Demonstrating that you have the business acumen required for the job AFTER impressing interviewers with tales of leadership ability and applicable work experience, the hard part commences: demonstrating that you have the business acumen required for the job. Cases allow consulting firms to see how applicants would react in front of a client when faced …

THE guesstimate question is a usual type of question that you can expect to be asked when interviewing for a position at a consulting firm. Here is one to test your mettle. The Hospital Bed Question The question is this: How many hospital beds are required in New York city to provide for all of its pregnant …

“Know your [competition], know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.” ~ Sun Tzu YOU are running a company, advising companies or would one day like to be. A company needs to understand its competition, and here are 11 points to help you do that. 1. Identify the competition Who are the …

“One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others.” ~ Lewis Carol IF THE GOAL in life (and business) is to help others, then a good first step would be to try to understand the people we are aiming to help so that …

WHETHER you are entering a new market, launching a new product, growing market share, developing a pricing strategy or managing costs, you will want to understand the products that you are dealing with. Here are 9 things to think about when trying to understand a product. 1. Identify the product What is the product? What …

THE only way to do well in the consulting case interview is to do lots of practice. Here is the most current list of free online case interview questions: Ace the Case Bain & Company Booz & Co Boston Consulting Group Capital One Job Search Online MBA Case McKinsey MIT Oliver Wyman

AS WE found out in the previous post, the guesstimate question is a usual type of question that you can expect to be asked when interviewing for a position at a consulting firm. Here are 12 tips to help you nail the guesstimate question: Practice: We live in a world where most of us use a …

THE guesstimate question is a usual type of question that you can expect to be asked when interviewing for a position at a consulting firm. What will you be asked to do A typical guesstimate question will require you to estimate a number by doing a rough “back of the beer coaster” calculation. You are …

THIS list of guides and books is a a work in progress. If you come across any other useful resources that I haven’t listed here, please let us know. Online case interview guides Make Your Case: Master Consulting Interviews | WallStreetOasis.com ATKearney – interview casebook Deloitte – 2007 Boston College – Conducting Case Interviews Deloite …